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Leonardo expands in Europe with Drueker acquisition

Banca Leonardo, the Italian investment banking boutique, agreed to acquire Germanyâ€™s Drueker to expand its European network of takeover advisers.

The Milan-based bank agreed to buy Drueker for an undisclosed amount of cash and shares. The German acquisition is the second international foray for Leonardo, which is led by Gerardo Braggiotti, a former star dealmaker at Lazard and one of Europeâ€™s most influential investment bankers.

Italyâ€™s powerful Agnelli family, Belgian billionaire Albert FrÃ¨re and Eurazeo, the private equity group, and others provided about â‚¬800m ($1.1bn) of fresh capital to the Italian bank for European expansion.